


I'll Go

by AU_Queen



Category: RWBY
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Ginger is the oc, M/M, Past Arkos, Roommates, Single Parent AU, past jaune arc/pyrrha nikos - Freeform, this is not the same universe as the canon RWBY-verse, written for a prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-01-31
Packaged: 2019-03-11 17:06:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13528755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AU_Queen/pseuds/AU_Queen
Summary: When Cardin is evicted from his apartment, Jaune is the only one who would take him in.





	I'll Go

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt: You’ve been sleeping over at mine because your house is being renovated and we aren’t even dating, yet every time you wake up to the baby crying and sigh, “I’ll go” I feel like we might as well be married.

Honestly, Cardin wasn’t pleased about his current arrangement. It annoyed him to no end. But there was nothing to be done.  He had been evicted from his apartment, and Jaune was the only one who would take him in. So he did what he had to. He moved in with Jaune. It was a bit awkward at first, but that was expected. How could it not be awkward when your past bully became your roommate?

It took him less than a day to move in, he only had three boxes of stuff to bring with him, so that wasn’t difficult. The difficult part was the sleeping arrangement, which was a surprise to Cardin. He hadn’t expected Jaune to fight with him on who took the couch and who used the bed. Jaune was too hospitable for his own good and demanded that as a guest, Cardin should get the bed. But Cardin refused, and did eventually win the argument. He would only stay until he could find a place for himself, so it would be unnecessary to move Jaune from his own bed. Plus, after all the stuff Cardin out him through, he felt like he deserved the couch.

That first night was probably the most awkward for Cardin. He couldn’t sleep, so he just laid there and counted the ceiling tiles. That’s when he heard the crying. Jaune had a daughter, Ginger, with Pyrrha. Sadly, she had died in the childbirth. So Jaune was left alone with her. Now Ginger was six months. From when Jaune had introduced him to her and told him all this, Cardin already knew she had her mother’s red hair.

Quietly, so as not to disturb Jaune, he snuck down the hallway into Ginger’s room. The little girl was in her crib, eyes closed and fists flailing around as she demanded to be fed. Cardin carefully scooped her out of the crib before he tiptoed to the kitchen. There he sat her down in her highchair so he could get to the task of heating the bottle he found in the fridge. When Cardin was sure it was warm enough, he took her back into his arms, turned everything off, and sat in the rocking chair located in a corner of the living room. He softly hummed, almost unconsciously, as he gave her the bottle and lulled her back to sleep.

It was morning when Jaune found them curled up on the rocking chair together. He thanked Cardin with a smile, but Cardin played it off like it was nothing.

“The kid just wouldn’t stop crying,” would be Cardin’s explanation for the next couple of nights.

On day ten, Jaune finally convinced Cardin to a compromise for the sleep situation. They would share the bed until Cardin moved out. He agreed since Jaune’s bed was big enough for them both, and Cardin did find it to be more forgiving than the couch during the night.

Cardin would still wake up in the evenings whenever Ginger started to cry. He would roll out from under the covers with a sigh and a mumbled, “I’ve got her.” Every time it happened, Jaune couldn’t help the split second thought about how… married it felt. Strangely enough to him, he didn’t really find the thought too terrible.

~~

Three months had passed since Cardin had moved in with Jaune, and he still had yet to find a new place. Neither minded it though. There was an unspoken companionship that had developed between them from that first morning that Jaune had found his daughter resting in Cardin’s arms. And Jaune found himself worried about losing that. Though, he wasn’t sure why.

It only took a few days before Cardin had completely warmed up to Ginger. Ginger took half that time. She absolutely adored him. And despite Cardin’s objections, Jaune knew she had him wrapped around her finger.

She had just recently started to talk. Jaune was pleased whenever she would refer to him as ‘papa’. He was surprised though when one morning during breakfast, she had turned in her highchair to look at Cardin and called him ‘dada’. They both looked at each other with wide eyes. Cardin had a white-knuckle grip on his coffee cup and the spoon of applesauce that Jaune held to place in Ginger's dish hovered in midair. It took Ginger's disappointed call for food for them to snap out of it.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know where that came from,” Cardin apologized and the flush the name had given him lingered on his face.

“It- it’s fine,” Jaune told him with his face down to Ginger so he could cover his smile, but his eyes were still trained on Cardin. He only ever referred to Cardin by his name, so he couldn’t imagine why she would call him that. Though something about it made a warmth bloom in his chest.

Ginger gave a high pitched giggle when Cardin ruffled her hair before he took his seat. She repeated her little declaration of ‘dada!’ and this time Cardin smiled.

~~

Two more months went by, and if they were being honest, they’ve started to feel like a family. It had become uncommon for Ginger to need a babysitter since Cardin and Jaune’s work schedules allowed for at least one of them to be home with her at all times. Cardin now responded immediately whenever Ginger called him Dada. And Jaune felt like he knew why that made him so happy. Even if he didn’t want to say anything. Not unless something made him, but that could never happen. Right?

He’s never been that lucky.

Cardin was quiet when he came home that day. - _When had he started to think of it as that?_ \- It had taken a while, but he had finally found a place that he could afford. Although, when he had went to check it out it’s bare walls had felt cold and the empty room felt small. He didn’t really want to move out. Ginger was an amazing little girl who he had easily fallen in love with, and if he was being honest with himself, he didn’t want to leave Jaune either. He wasn’t sure when it had happened, but somehow he had started to fall for him. And by fall, he meant an emotional tumble down two flights of stairs. But he didn’t want to burden Jaune anymore since he had found a place. So he would tell him and move out. If only he could get his voice to do what he needed it to.

There was a weird kind of tension during dinner. Both Jaune and Cardin could feel it, even if Ginger couldn’t. Jaune knew there was something on Cardin’s mind. For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to ask what it was.

Neither of them brought it up until they were in bed.

“So,” Jaune started and Cardin knew from the pause and his tone of voice that he had his bottom lip between his teeth. He sounded so worried. Cardin had a feeling it was because of how quiet it was earlier.

“Yeah?” Cardin said and tried to ignore how his voice wavered. He didn’t want to have this conversation. He really didn’t. But it had to be done.

“You’ve been weirdly quiet today, anything wrong?” Jaune asked. The covers shifted as he moved. Cardin moved with him to see Jaune with his head propped up so he could look at Cardin. He mimicked the pose and stared back through the dark at Jaune’s dark eyes.

“No,” Cardin said and his tone came out harsh. He took a breath before he repeated himself, “No.”

“Cardin?” Jaune looked at him with an eyebrow raised in disbelief. He was right not to believe him. Cardin sighed. Reached for the necklace that hung around his neck to twirl the chain around his fingers. “Tell me?” Jaune asked him softly.

“I found a place. Somewhere I can actually afford. But, it’s far from here, and I’m not sure if I’d be able to come over and see Ginger or babysit her for you. If you’d still want me to,” Cardin said.

“Oh. Congratulations, on the new place,” Jaune said with a barely repressed sigh. “And of course I still want you to see her.”

“Thanks,” Cardin said. He gave Jaune a sad smile before he moved to lay back down. Jaune followed his example and it was quiet for a few minutes.

“Do you have to move? I mean, Ginger really likes you. And having you around has made it easier on both of us. So, maybe you could stay?” Jaune asked quietly. Cardin didn’t respond for several seconds and in that time he felt Jaune take his hand. He stiffened at the movement, but didn’t bother to pull away.

“If it makes it easier, maybe I could stay,” Cardin said the words slowly. Felt his chest warm when Jaune squeezed his hand. He lightly squeezed back.

“Yeah. It would,” Jaune said. Cardin could hear the smile in his voice.

“Then I guess I’m staying,” Cardin said and he didn’t even try to keep the smile out of his own voice.

When they woke up that morning, they had somehow managed to tangle their limbs together during the night. There was a moment of quiet where they just stared at each other before Ginger burst into the room. She climbed up to the top of the bed and wiggled her way between the two men. They wrapped their arms around her and told her that Cardin would be staying there permanently. In response, Ginger smiled widely and tightened her grip on Cardin. With a smile he kissed her forehead. Jaune watched with fondness in his eyes.

Cardin would never move out. And Jaune knew why that made him so happy.

 

After another few months of living with Ginger and Jaune, Cardin married Jaune. He had never been happier that he had been evicted from his original apartment.


End file.
